Page 44 of Wooing the Wiccan
Brandt glances at his better half. “Can I speak yet?”
“Only if you’re going to be helpful and supportive.”
The dragon smiles. “Oh, good.” He looks at me. “I’m sure you feel like this is a disaster, but it’s not that bad.”
I squint at him. “That was you being supportive?” It missed the mark.
“You can stop speaking now,” Percy tells him, but Brandt shakes his head.
“No, listen. Your Jared was accepting of the community. When you and Sam told him everything, he was shocked, but he didn’t reach for a torch and pitchfork. He wants to learn more—he’s cominghereso he can become part of the community.”
“Thank you for summarizing what I just told you.” I’m not sure where he’s going with this, but I wish he’d hurry up so Percy can say comforting things.
“You’re missing the point. People like you here. There’s nobody in these offices or CSG’s who doesn’t hold you in the highest regard. They respect you, they like you, and they’ll say good things about you. That’s going to reinforce all the nice feelings he had about you before last night, which leaves us with an open-minded and accepting human who wants to be with youand will have his doubts assuaged.” He leans back in his chair with a smirk. “It’s not that bad. The only downside is the wait.”
Is he right? I look at Percy, refusing to let hope rise without a sane opinion.
The former lucifer purses his lips. “He’s got a point,” he concedes, and hopesoars. “That doesn’t mean we can’t help the situation along a little.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jared
I’m practically shakingwith nerves as the elevator carries me toward the offices of the Community of Species Government. The part I’m not sure about is how much of my nerves are bad ones, and how much is sheer excitement. Maybe 80/20. What will the office even look like?
The elevator stops at the right floor, doors opening, and I peer out.
It looks like any other corporate office I’ve been to. How disappointing.
Pull it together, Jared. Show these people the respect they deserve—they’re not here to entertain you.
I’m so busy giving myself that little pep talk that the elevator doors start to close, and I lunge through them with a yelp, banging my shoulder on one and half-skidding into the lobby. Exactly the kind of first impression I want to make.
Heart pounding with embarrassment, I look around. There are two people in conversation over by the security gate that leads into the office area, and the receptionist is on the phone, but the man closest to me?—
“I hate when that happens,” he says sympathetically, shaking his head. “There’s sensors in everything these days, right? Sowhy can’t those sensors know when I’m having thinky thoughts and need more time?”
I stare at him. “Yeah,” I manage, though I’m not completely sure what I just agreed with. Elevators that can read minds, maybe? “I got distracted.”
The guy nods. He’s big, on the scale of those monster-sized hockey players last night—was it only last night?—but has this cheerful, happy-go-lucky vibe that balances out the sheer size of him. His accent is distinctly English, and it strikes me that if the lucifer is the top-level leader, then the community of species has a world government. I wonder how they make that work?
“Distraction is the best. All my favorite ideas came to me when I was distracted by something else,” he tells me earnestly. “My boyfriend jokes that if I don’t bring up a new idea during afterglow, he knows I wasn’t completely focused on the sex.”
I furtively glance around. Am I being pranked? Are there people waiting to jump out and yell, “Gotcha!”?
The lobby seems just the same as before, except the two people who were by the security gate are gone, and the receptionist is now typing something.
“I hope he doesn’t get mad,” I say politely, then wish I’d thought of something better. He already said it was a joke.
“Nah, even with only half my attention I’m better at sex than most people. I’m Alistair.” He extends a hand, and I shake it automatically, glad for a reason not to have to come up with a reply to his statement.
“Jared. Uh?—”
“I’m Sam’s bestest bestie,” he continues, and every bit of my attention is immediately laser focused on him. “I work with him and Gideon. He said you were coming in and that you didn’t know much about the community, so I decided to be your temporary bro.”
“My temporary bro?” I echo, and he grins.
“Yep. I can’t offer more without knowing you better, but permanent bro-hood could be on the horizon if you fit the vibe.”
